Food receptacle for children



1942- s. B. NATHANSO N FOOD RECEPTACLE FOR CHILDREN Filed Aug. 11, 1937 f. Ifivenibr v GEORGEB MTHA/VSd/V 3 di'ormag Patented Jan. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,268,768 I FOOD RECEPTACLE FOR CHILDREN George B. Nathanson, Brookline, Mass. Application August 11, 1937, Serial No. 158,491

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a receptacle having its exterior formed of a precious metal, and more particularly to such a receptacle which is adapted to be used by infants or young children.

Heretofore the art has attempted to construct receptacles, such as cups, of precious metals for use by infantsor children. However, in this connection, various difliculties have arisen. For example, a precious metal, such as silver, when of ceptacle of the type described which eliminates each of the above difficulties.

Another object of this invention isto construct such a receptacle which is easily andinexpensively made, and which presents an attractive appearance.

The foregoing and other objects of my inventionwill be best understood from the followin description of an exem'plification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,

wherein Fi 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodi-. ment of my invention, showing my novel method of attaching a handle to a receptacle of the type described;

Fig, 2 is a side view of the receptacle shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a top view of the filling ring used in- Fig. 1.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 there is shown a cup which consists of an outershell It made of a precious metal, such as sterling silver, and an inner member l3 of a different material such as, for example, a plastic material.

The material of which the inner member I3 is made is much lighter in weight than silver, it does not tarnish, and it is acid-proof,'non-stainable, and quite hard and resistant to any denting action. As is well known, the term plastics is applied in modern terminology to that group of synthetic materials which fiows and can be molded to a desired shape by the application of heat and pressure thereto. The term plastics is usedin this sense in the specification and in the claims.

In the construction which I have described above, the shell tl-may be made of as thin a material as desired and'still present to theuser thereof an appearance of a cup or receptacle formedof a precious metal. Thus receptacles such as I have described may be made very inexpensively.- However, it is desirable that the shell l2 be madeof sufiicient thickness so as to serve as a mutual reinforcing element for the inner member IS. The plastic material of which .the inner member I3 is made is often of the kind which may'f'racture, although it is not readily dented. The metal of'the shell l2, however, as is well known, is rather ductile and tough. so that it does not readily shatter. I have found that the combination of the two materials in the close-fitting contact which I have described produces a unit which is exceptionally resistant both to denting and to fracturing of the constituent members thereof. The composite receptacle described is also of sufficiently light material so that it may be handled easily by an infant. Furthermore, due tothe fact that the inner surfaces of the receptacle which come into contact with any foods which may be placed therein are formed of plastic, no tarnishing takes place and the receptacle is easily kept clean.

It is often desirable to make a receptacle having a more or less complex outer surface. In Fig. 2 for example, I show the'receptacle having. a bulging lower portion M. In order to secure the advantages of my novel construction, it is, of course, desirable that the entire shell I2 shall closely fit the plastic internal member. This may readily be done in the arrangements which I have illustrated by the use of a filling member l5. This filling member, in the modification which I have illustrated, may take the form of a' split ring, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 4. The outer surface of the split ring is shaped so that it snugly fits the interior of the bulging lower portion H. The inner side of the ring I5 is formed so as to fit snugly the outer surface of the interior member l3. The split ring I5 is formed preferably, but not necessarily, of the same material as the interior member B. In order to assemble the receptacle, the split ring I5 is first compressed so that the inner ends l6 thereof overlapas shown in Fig. 4. In this way the ring I5 can be decreased in diameter so that it may readily be slipped into the shell I 2 until it reaches the enlarged lower portion M. At that point the ring may be released, whereat its elasticity will cause it to expand so that the inner ends I6 pass into the position as illustrated in Fig. 3 and completely fill the interior of the enlarged portion I4. If the elasticity of the ring I5 in itself is insufficient to cause such expansion, a tool may readily be inserted to force it into the position as shown in Fig. 3. After the ring I5 is placed in position, as illustrated, the inner member I3 is forced into the shell I2, producing the frictiontight fit between the outer surface of the member I3 and the inner walls of the shell I2, whereby the shell I2 is retained firmly in place on the interior member I3. As indicated, the upper end of the interior member I3 is formed with an enlarged upper edge I! having a groove formed in its lower side as a continuation of the outer wals of the member I3. The upper edge of the shell I2 fits into the groove and isfirmly retained therein due to the tight fit. Thus the completed cup presents a finished and attractive appearance, and is easily assembled. A pattern or letter, such as indicated at I8, may be cut into the shell I2 so as to show the underlying plastic member I3 which may be made in any desired color. By heating the member I3 and exerting a pressure on the interior thereof, plastic material may be extruded through the pattern or letter I8 preferably to such an extent as to lie fiush with the outside surface of the member I2, as indicated in Fig. 1. Such an arrangement locks the shell I2 to the inner member I3, and assists in retaining said shell I2 on said member I3.

The extrusion of plastic material through apertures in the shell may be utilized to retain the handle I9 on the composite receptacle, such as shown, for example, in Fig. 1. In this arrangement the shell I2 is provided with two openings 20. The handle I9 is provided with recesses 2I which may be placed in alignment with the openings 20. When the handle I9 is placed in this alignment, the plastic material may be extruded through the openings 20 into the recesses 2| by heating the member I3 and exerting a pressure on the interior thereof. The recesses 2| may be undercut so that the plastic material will form heads 22, interlocking with the handle I9, and.

thus firmly retaining said handle in place upon the receptacle.

Although in Figs. 1 and 2 a number of fea- This invention is not limited to the particular details of construction as described above, as many equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Also the manner in which the upper end of the shell is retained on the receptacle may be subjected to a wide variety of different treatments. Other modifications and equivalents will readily present themselves. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims be given a broad interpretation commensurate with the scope of the invention Within the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A composite receptacle comprising an outer shell of a relatively thin precious metal, an irmer receptacle member of plastic, said outer shell being provided with an annular enlargement, and a split ring of plastic fitting snugly within said enlargement having its interior surface formed to lie in the plane of the rest of the interior surface of said shell, producing a regular interior surface into which said inner receptacle fits uniformly and tightly.

, 2. A composite receptacle comprising an outer shell of a relatively thin precious metal, an inner receptacle member of plastic material, the inner walls of said outer shell firmly engaging the outer walls of said inner receptacle member, said shell being perforated, said plastic material extending through said perforation to form a handle-attaching projection, and a handle secured to said projection.

3. The method of producing a composite receptacle which comprises perforating an outer shell of a relatively thin metal, supporting an external member adjacent the perforation, said external member having an aperture thus held in alignment with said perforation, placing a plastic material which can be molded under the applica-. tion of heat and pressure thereto within saidv shell, heating said material, and exerting a pressure upon it from the interior of said shell to extrude said material through the perforation in said shellinto said aperture to retain said external member on said shell.

4. A composite receptacle comprising an outer shell of a relatively thin metal, an inner receptacle member of plastic material, the inner walls of said outer shell firmly engaging the outer walls of said inner receptacle member, said shell being perforated, said plastic material extending through said perforation to form an external projection for attaching an additional member, and an additional member attached thereto.

GEORGE B. NATHANSON. 1 

